FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The Davis & Elkins men's and women's tennis teams delivered strong performances at the Fall Brawl, a two-day tournament hosted by Fairmont State University. The event, which featured flighted singles and doubles matches, also included teams from West Virginia State and West Virginia Wesleyan College.
D&E players advanced to the final rounds in several events, with nearly every Senator claiming a victory over the weekend. The singles brackets consisted of eight players per flight, while doubles featured four teams in each flight.
Leading the way for the women's team was freshman Fabienne Lahn, who reached the finals of the A Flight singles. Lahn defeated top players from West Virginia State and West Virginia Wesleyan before narrowly losing to Fairmont State's Maria Fonseca, a former conference player of the year and two-time All-MEC First Team selection. Lahn fell 4-3 (6), 1-4, (8-10) in a hard-fought match.
Sophomore Erin Laubscher also had a strong showing in A Flight singles, securing a third-place finish with a 4-3 (3), 4-1 win over West Virginia State's Daniela Cruzado Fretel. Additionally, Karen Saucedo claimed the C Flight singles title, while Emiliana Golac and Lilly Wentzler contributed multiple match wins for the Senators.
"This was a great start for the ladies, especially our freshmen," head coach Mark Walters said. "We saw some competitive results after just a few practices, and I'm excited to see how we progress as we fine-tune our doubles pairings. Fabienne had a memorable start, playing nearly a whole UTR point above her rating."
Walters acknowledged the challenge of determining exact lineups with the flight format but praised his players for competing well and gaining valuable experience against strong opponents.
On the men's side, Justus Petersilie advanced to the C Flight finals after winning two matches. He defeated West Virginia State's Axel Dormann 4-1, 4-1 and West Virginia Wesleyan's Ayumu Seto 4-2, 2-4 (10-5) before falling 2-4, 2-4 to Fairmont State's Hugo Lena in the championship match.
Viktor Yanev, Duarte Correia, Santiago Ordonez, Sean Maphosa, Filippo Buffo, and Christo Wirahadipoernomo also notched victories in both singles and doubles over the weekend.
Walters was encouraged by the team's overall performance, noting the integration of four new players into the lineup and the challenge of playing up in their respective flights.
"The teams we faced this weekend had beaten us last year, so it was great to see how much we've improved," Walters said. "Our doubles play is solidifying, and the depth of our squad is becoming more evident. The freshmen and new players showed composure and handled the pressure well. I believe they'll help us take a step forward this season, and I'm eager to see how we perform at the ITA Regionals next week."
Up Next
The Senators netters compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Regionals on September 13-15.
